God of War
by OhHeyJackTheRipper
Summary: After witnessing the death of her family and losing the one person she had left, Ares, a young girl with a talent for getting into trouble, joins the military to avenge her loved ones. However she soon discovers that there's more going on than what the government lets on. M for language, gore and later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Author note: I take full ownage of the original characters within this story, etc. To the point, because no one 'technically' has a title within the military and are just referred to as commander etc, I'm going to use my creative license and give them 'realistic' ranks (since there's a lot of debate and confusion as to why Levi is only a Lance Corporal instead of being a high rank since the military ranking in general and via translation is confusing, and whether Hange is older than Levi etc) and the first few chapters are set before Eren's time thus Levi, Hange and the others are younger and haven't achieved the titles we associate them with yet (i.e Levi is only a Lieutenant instead of Captain at the moment), also their mannerisms are a bit different. One last thing, which I'll bring up again in the next few chapters, in keeping with Hajime Isayama words on Hange Zoe, I'll be writing Hange as non-binary so you can decide whether you want our favourite titan-crazy scientist to be male or female. That's all - oh and I apologize for the sloppy writing, I just want to get the first few chapters out of the way. Peace.**

I gritted my teeth as I stared down at the giant beings on the other side of the massive wall. They had taken everything from us except this enclosure, eating us purely because they could. But my hatred towards them was more personal as titans were responsible for the deaths of my entire family. I vowed I would avenge them no matter what.

"Ares." the gruff voice calling my nickname made my shoulders drop immediately, "You know you're not allowed up here."

"I know." I sighed not looking wanting to look at Kitcha. A clattering sound came from behind me as he moved to stand next to me on the wall,

"Then why do you keep sneaking past the guards? They get in serious trouble if you're caught." he said softly. I gave him a side-long glance. Kitcha Valentin, he was the one who pulled me out of the wreckage when Titans attacked our cart, killing my family. He'd looked after me ever since. Kitcha was a tall man in his late-20's, but he had a baby face so he looked younger than he was. His eyes were the colour of leaves in a dense forest and his hair was as dark as earth. There was a burn mark on his left hand, a scar he'd gotten saving me, and a crescent scar that reached from his right eyebrow to his cheek. He never told me how he'd gotten it, all he would say was that it was from his childhood days.

"I want to see them. The monsters that brought humanity to sink this low. I want to know everything about the things I'll be killing." I told him, my fists balling. Again Kitcha sighed,

"You're really going to join the Garrison?" I nodded immediately,

"Why'd you think I asked you to train me?" I smiled up at him. Kitcha scratched the back of his head,

"I had hoped it was bullies."

"RIDERS!" a voice bellowed out. Kitcha immediately went into soldier-mode and began shouting commands, one of which was for me to get the hell of the wall. I muttered my displeasure as I made my way back down to the town below.

"It's the Survey Corps!" children sang happily racing past me, "Lieutenant Levi is so cool!" Levi was here? He was only in his 20's, yet he was known as the greatest soldier humanity had ever seen - the one man army. Not much was known about his past, or rather not much was made public, but he'd shone in battle. I strived to be as strong as him.

I pushed through the crowds of people gathering to see the Survey Corps as they passed through the town just to get a glimpse of him. People were shouting, asking about their family members, one man called out several names, but the soldiers remained silent and stoic. I managed to squeeze through a gap between two heavyset men.

"Oi!" one roared down at me, "What ya think ya doin', brat?!" I looked up at him in confusion, I hadn't done anything. Suddenly, with violent force, he shoved me out into the middle of the street and I landed on my hands and knees.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" I demanded staggering to my feet and brushing the dust off.

"You were pick pocketing!" he roared. I frowned and huffed - typical. An orphan kid pushes through the crowds to get a look at her idol and everyone suspects a thief. Such luck belongs to me. I re-adjusted my hat and turned around to face him.

"I'm gonna beat you senseless, boy!" He announced. He was going to do what? Anger rushed through me like a hurricane; I stood to the side, planted my feet in the ground steadying my stance and raised my fists the way Kitcha had shown me. I wasn't mad because he'd called me a boy, I got mistaken for one too often to make me care. It was the injustice that caused my blood to boil. The big man took one step, his hulking, meaty fist raised and then froze.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked a low, calm voice. The big man's face dropped and he began to stutter,

"L-L-L-Levi..."

"That's Lieutenant." the voice replied unamused. I gulped and turned around to see the silhouette of a man atop a horse behind me. I staggered backwards, the entire convoy had stopped dead and, along with the crowd, were all looking at me. My gaze shifted back to the man on the horse; intimidating grey eyes looked at me with an unreadable expression. Suddenly he sighed, dismounted and began striding towards me.

"A-apologies, Lieutenant Levi!" I called bowing my head immediately. However he kept walking right on by. I took a moment to figure out whether I wanted to turn around or not, but the cry of pain from the direction of the fat man told me I didn't want to move. I shut my eyes tightly, waiting to experience the same treatment.

"Beating a dog like you is just a waste of my time and only pisses me off more." Levi said harshly, "You, girl, are you okay?"

"Girl?!" someone in the crowd cried in disbelief. I blinked rapidly an turned around, surprised that Lieutenant Levi was talking to me and that he knew I wasn't a boy. His back was to me and at his feet, bruised and bloody was the man who'd threatened me before.

"Ah, y-yes." I replied still in shock at what had just happened. Levi turned on his heel, his face expressionless, and marched back to his horse.

"Then get the hell off the road."

Levi sat by himself eating soup and not thinking about anything in particular. He was alone because he wanted to be, a fact that Erwin seemed intent on ignoring.

"That little escapade in town has got everyone talking." he commented as he sat down. Levi stared into his soup, annoyed at the elder.

"Good for them." Levi replied.

"They're all wondering why you did it. Some are even saying she's your sister."

"Stupidity breeds stupid assumptions." he replied. Erwin gave a light chuckle,

"I do have to admit that I'm curious too. Why did you stop?"

Levi sighed, he knew this question was going to be asked especially considering it was completely out of his character to do such a thing.

"She had a look in her eyes that I liked." he replied honestly, "That's all."

"You! You're not allowed here, leave immediately!" The two men turned in the direction of the commotion. A Garrison soldier was trying to make it past two of their own, he seemed intent on talking to Levi.

"What do you want?" Levi asked abandoning his soup in favour of talking with this strange young man.

"My name is Kitcha Valentin, the girl in the street today is like a little sister to me, sir." the man said. Levi folded his arms over his chest,

"And?"

"Well...I uh, just wanted to thank you for what you did, sir." Valentin said before looking down and smiling softly, "See, she lost her parents and two brothers to Titans when she was younger and she's got a personality that makes it hard for her to make friends so she tends to cause trouble, especially being in places she's not supposed to be in..."

"Would you be getting to the point any time soon?" Levi asked pretending to be bored with the story, he wouldn't let on that Valentin's description of the brat reminded him of his old life.

Valentin stuttered momentarily before clearing his throat, "Sorry, sir. I get carried away sometimes. I guess what I was trying to say is that she really admires you, so it means more to her than most would realize when you stepped in and saved her from a beating." Levi shrugged and walked back to his soup, the steam that had been rising from it a moment ago was now but a memory as was the heat.

"Shit." he muttered annoyed, "My soup's cold because of you."

"Sorry sir, I've caused enough trouble so I'll be going." Valentin announced before saluting them and turning to leave.

"She would have been fine," Levi said still looking longingly at his soup but he knew Valentin had stopped, "I intervened because the pigs would have hated her more for beating one of their own. I hate unnecessary deaths."

The Survey Corps camp was dead quiet as I carefully picked my way through rows of soldiers. Although they'd lost men outside the wall there still seemed to be too many to rent rooms and they had looked too tired to continue back to Wall Rose. I wanted to thank Lieutenant Levi personally before he left but I knew they would turn me away immediately so I had to wait until the early hours of the morning when everyone was asleep. I smiled as I passed two soldiers cuddling in their sleep while scanning the area for the man I was searching for. A lone horse grazed happily near the outskirts of the encampment and I wondered whether it was his. The horse raised it's big head at my approach, ears flicking forward curiously.

"Hey there boy, why are you out here alone?" I asked him.

"I was about to ask you the same question." came a reply I was not ready for. I whirled around, hands raised in instant defeat knowing it was better to retreat than fight. I had expected to find a soldier standing before me, but what my eyes found was something far more scarier. Levi stood, arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his face, waiting for my answer.

"I-uh..."

"You were looking for me, were you not?" he asked already knowing my intent. I gulped and nodded. I felt so weak standing before him. I had seen Titans up close, watched as they brutally ate my family, yet why was this single man so terrifying?! He sighed and gave a nearby log a look of disgust before sitting on it,

"What's your name, orphan brat?" he asked crossing a leg over the other and placing his interlocked hands on his knee. I blinked at the ground wondering why he was talking to me and not telling me to go home.

"Everyone calls me Ares." I replied softly. Levi sniggered,

"Ares? The Greek God of war, bloodshed and violence? What a joke."

"I believe that was the intent." I replied before thinking.

"Really? And what kind of idiot destroyed every single one of his three brain cells to think of that?" Levi asked condescendingly. I clenched my jaw - he was nothing like how I'd imagined him to be. Instead of the quiet but remarkably kind man I had pictured him to be, Levi was rude, abrasive and cold. He certainly wasn't the type of person I could aspire to be, not anymore.

"Did I upset you?" he asked in an uncaring tone, "Don't tell me it was that blabbering fool who is oh so fond of you?" I glared at Levi no longer caring if he was as strong as what everyone said, or what he'd done yesterday - he had insulted Kitcha and I could never forgive anyone who did that.

"Say what you want about me, but don't you dare insult him. You know nothing about him, and I won't tolerate someone like you talking shit about Kitcha!" I yelled furiously. Levi's expression didn't change as he slowly stood, I held my ground as he began to walk towards me. I raised my fists and took a defensive stance although I knew I would be no match for him.

"I'm not going to hit you." he said stopping in front of me, "I don't know whether you're brave or just stupid so people like you piss me off, but you've got guts."

"If that's a compliment it's a real shitty one." I muttered lowering my fists and thrusting them into the pockets of my oversized brown coat. Levi scoffed, the corners of his mouth twitched almost like he was trying to smile,

"Have you eaten?" he asked suddenly, I shook my head as my stomach growled, "Come with me." I followed Levi as he made his way back to his tent, he flipped the flap to the side not caring that it almost hit me in the face, and motioned for me to follow him. I took off my hat and held it close to my chest as I glanced meekly around his makeshift bedroom. A small wooden table that doubled as both dinner table and desk had been placed in the middle and had a neat stack of paper to one side and a tea cup and saucer to the other. The second thing I noticed was that it was crushingly clean, not one single spot of dirt to be found. My understanding of Levi's character was beginning to grow - he was cold and abrasive, a neat freak, had an unconventional sense of humour and had a strange way of showing his nice side.

"Sit." he commanded, I did as I was told and sat opposite him, "Why do you want to join the Garrison?"

"Who told you that?"

"Your friend."

I glared at the table, Kitcha had been here and hadn't bothered to tell me. Sometimes that man really pissed me off, especially when he went around telling people personal things about me, he probably even told Levi about my parents.

"I don't know how much that bastard told you, but my parents were different from the people here. They believed that the reason Titans attacked us all those years ago was because humanity, being the easily scared and violent creatures we are, had provoked them. Why else would they leave every other living thing alone and attack us? So in an attempt to see for themselves and maybe even try to reason with the Titans, we ventured outside the wall."

"This idiotic field trip resulted in the death of your family, correct?" Levi asked, I gritted my teeth,

"Some people would call you idiotic for risking your life out there too." I replied stubbornly.

Levi sighed, "That is true. However those people are spineless cowards who have grown too fat and lazy sitting comfortably within this enclosure." he replied resting his cheek on his hand. I frowned, I was sure he just called my parents brave for venturing outside but I didn't want to voice my thoughts for fear I was wrong, so I just continued my story.

"I can still see it every time I close my eyes. It was clear as far as the eye could see and so beautiful, the sun was just setting on the horizon and the wind was refreshingly cool. I thought it would be just like Dad had said, that maybe we had a chance at really living again. And then they appeared, two silhouettes against the orange horizon. They ate my parents first, my mother kept screaming for us to run but we were paralyzed with fear and then my eldest brother, Isaiah, suddenly pulled Felix and I under the cart. It was useless though, one of the Titans pulled Felix out from underneath while the other smashed the cart on top of us. I would have died if Isaiah hadn't protected me..." I looked up from the table expecting Levi to be asleep or at least looking disinterested in my story, what I found was somewhat surprising. Although he wasn't looking directly at me I could tell he was still listening from the calm expression on his face. I took his silence as a signal to continue,

"Kitcha had been on patrol that evening and had seen everything but had been too startled to actually do anything at first, but when he saw a Titan lift up Isaiah's broken body he realized that there was a chance I was still alive under the debris and his body moved on it's own. At least that's what he told me, I don't actually remember what happened after that."

"Who would want to..." Levi said softly, "So you want to join the Garrison to do the man who saved your life proud?"

"I want people to stop looking at me like I'm just another burden they have to look out for..." I admitted. I had never told anyone the truth as to why I wanted so desperately to join the Garrison, not even Kitcha, yet now I was telling one man I wasn't even sure I liked. Levi's gaze shifted and for the first time he looked me in the eyes, his gaze was strong and intimidating and strangely passionate.

"Do you want to know why I did what I did yesterday?" he asked suddenly. The thought had never occured to me but now that he'd mentioned it I found myself curious.

"My reasons weren't as just as they may have seemed - saving a child from an adult. I did it because I knew you could beat him, I saw it on your face. However those fat, lazy cowards would have killed you for something as petty as defending yourself. People like that disgust me; those who unnecessarily kill don't deserve to live." he said. I blinked at the man in front of me, this was the Levi I had imagined. I began to feel ashamed at my judgement of him earlier, however it wasn't solely uncalled for, but it was very apparent that I knew absolutely nothing about the man I had called my idol.

"So that's my story," I announced sighing heavily and crossing my legs beneath me, "What's yours?" Levi's expression became stormy once more and he stood,

"None of your concern." he said sharply, "Don't you have a home to go to?" I pouted and folded my arms over my chest,

"You said you were going to feed me."

"Why the hell would I say something like that?" he asked raising an eyebrow, "I'm not your babysitter."

"Then why did you ask if I'd eaten?" I asked incredulously also standing. Levi strode over to me and took me by the elbow. His hand was surprisingly smooth and warm, and he gripped my arm firmly but not enough to actually cause me pain.

"I wanted to know if it was safe to eat around you." he replied as he led me out of his tent, "You might've stolen my food." With that he gave me a light shove, I stumbled outside confused at what had just happened. It took me almost the entire walk home to realize that he'd been joking.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"No...but I have no choice. My family can't support all of us, since I'm the eldest I have to make an example."

"That's harsh man."

"Aren't you in a similar situation?"

"Me? Nah. I just came along because you did."

"Hah. Can't get rid of you can I?"

"Someone has to look after you."

I listened to the chatter of the two boys in front of me. They were both around my age, maybe a year or two older, but I could tell right away neither of them had ever seen a Titan up close. I wished I could be as carefree as them, but since Kitcha's death the only emotions I could muster was indifference and anger. Something hard smacked into my back suddenly catching me off guard, instinctively I put my hands out and steadied myself on one of the boys' backs. The three of us turned around to see what had caused the domino effect. A petite, delicate looking boy sat on the ground in a daze, his chestnut hair was all I could see of him until he looked up. He had the biggest blue eyes I had ever seen and very fine facial features. He was prettier than most of the girls I knew.

"I'm so sorry!" he said realizing what had happened, he pressed his hands, even his hands were pretty, together apologetically, "I'm not real good at stopping." With a heavy sigh I extended my hand down to him and helped him up.

"Thanks." he said, "Oh I'm Blair Grey by the way." Blair shot me a dazzling smile and held out one of his pretty hands. One of the boys behind me took it while I just blankly stared at him,

"Ezra James and this fun lookin' guy beside me is Klaus Lynden." Ezra was tall where Klaus was robust with arms like trees. Both had dark hair and dark eyes, but Ezra seemed much lighter than the silently brooding Klaus.

"Nice to meet you." Blair said before turning to me, "And you?"

"Ares Valentin." I replied robotically. The three boys exchanged looks of wonder and surprise before Ezra grinned widely,

"That's probably the coolest name ever. It's real right?" he asked.

"Of course it is." I said giving him a look. It may not have been the name I was born with but I'd decided to change it since that name was associated with death. I decided to get off the subject of my name,

"I don't mean to sound rude but aren't you too pretty to join the military?" I asked Blair. His cheeks turned a soft pale but he didn't look away,

"Everyone back home thought so too. Since I'm so small, I won't be able to cut it right? But I'm the fastest runner in my home town, so I figured why not put my skills to good use?" he replied with a shrug of his thin shoulders.

"See, I'm not the only one." Ezra said elbowing Klaus in the ribs.

"You're fast?" Blair asked curiously. Ezra nodded,

"With my hands." he replied with a triumphant grin and then raised his hands defensively when I gave him a suspicious look, "Not like that!" I huffed and eyed Klaus up and down,

"Let me guess...You're a fantastic knitter?" I asked sarcastically. Klaus grinned and scratched the back of his head shyly,

"Well what about you?" he asked. I smirked,

"You'll just have to wait and see."

The sun beat down on us mercilessly as we stood in rows waiting to be yelled at by a short, lean man with a buzz cut and no facial hair who went by the name Buck Stevenson. Buck, as he'd so loudly announced, was head instructor of the 97th Trainees Squad and thus we were stuck with him for three years. I stood in the third row next to Blair, Klaus and Ezra were both in the first row but at opposite ends. The instructor paced up and down the rows, occasionally stopping to yell at a trainee in an attempt to terrify them. When he came to the third row I knew it would be inevitable that he would stop in front of Blair.

"Well ain't you the prettiest girl at the ball?!" he yelled at Blair. I glanced at him, his large blue were focused straight ahead and his jaw was tight,

"Yes, sir!" he replied instantly. Buck's eyebrow twitched, he was obviously annoyed that Blair didn't break down and cry like he thought he would.

"What's your name, little lady?" he asked.

"Blair Grey, sir!" Blair replied and continued to answer everything the instructor threw at him. I was proud of Blair, he may have looked weak but he was certainly brave. Having no luck in breaking Blair's resolve, Buck decided to move onto the next victim. As he passed me, I caught his gaze. I could see it in his small, beady eyes that he knew what hell was like and for a fleeting second we shared a moment of reliving our own nightmares. Buck was soon terrorizing another poor soul while I became distracted by movement on the East wall. A small male with short dark hair wearing the green cloak of the Survey Corps had taken to leaning against a outlook post, a taller blonde man stood with him.

"Levi..." I whispered instantly recognizing the small man. Beside me, Blair heard my hushed words,

"Lieutenant Levi?" he whispered back as he took a peek at the wall, "Oh man, what're they doing here?"

"Probably observing the peasants." I replied nonchalantly. The two men stayed atop the wall for another hour before going back inside.

I didn't see Levi again until the next day when he, the man from yesterday and two others joined a few senior officers to watch our aptitude tests. As I was being hoisted into the air I was silently thankful for my few encounters with using the 3-Dimensional gear. I glanced over at Klaus as he struggled to stay upright, Ezra swung back and forth happily while Blair tried to coach Klaus on what to do.

"Good Valentin," Buck said as he assessed my skill, "You're a natural." I remained silent, not wanting to correct him before they let me down and I rejoined the other trainees in the 97th who hadn't run away yet. Every now and then someone would fail using the 3DMG and would be told to leave. Buck wasn't the kind of man to offer second chances - if someone couldn't succeed in staying up right by the end of the day then they weren't suited to the life of a soldier. More than half of the remaining trainees were sent away by the time the sun had set.

"So," Ezra began as he took a seat opposite me in the mess hall, "have you decided where you'll go when you graduate?" Blair nodded once before swallowing the bread he was chewing on,

"I was thinking about the Survey Corps, it's dangerous but my speed would probably be of most use there." he said.

"You crazy kid!" Ezra laughed, "I'm not so brave. Ideally I'd like to join the Military Police but the chances of me getting into the top 10 aren't so great - so I'd go to the Garrison."

"There's bravery in that decision." I commented while spooning my stew.

"You think?" he asked becoming serious. I nodded,

"Just because the wall hasn't been attacked in almost 100 years doesn't mean it won't be, and it certainly doesn't mean you can't die." I told them.

"You sound like you know for sure." Klaus remarked, his deep voice was definitely a contradiction to his young face.

"I do." I replied dropping my spoon and pushing my bowl away, "I'm not hungry." Without another word I stood and went outside to clear my head. I walked around the barracks trying not to think about Kitcha, but in a place like this it was impossible. Eventually I gave up when I reached a lookout post and, leaning on the railing, let my memories flow. I didn't know how long I had been up there in the cool breeze staring at the stars, but it was long enough for someone to notice.

"What are you doing up here?" a male's voice asked in a flat tone.

"None of your business." I replied automatically and then realized what I'd said, quickly I spun around and put my fist over my heart, saluting, "Forgive me Sir, I wasn't thinking."

"Since when did you ever think?" he replied stepping into the a silver line of moonlight.

"Lieutenant...I-uh, I didn't know you were here." I said desperately trying to cover my surprise. Levi sighed heavily and walked up to lean against the railing beside me.

"That's a lie. You saw me the first day you arrived, I know because I was watching you." he replied nonchalantly. I felt my cheeks grow hot at his admission and was thankful it was nighttime.

"So you're going by that stupid nickname these days, huh? Amazing that they let you in with that name." he continued, "Although I doubt they care after seeing your skill with the Maneuver gear."

"I'm not that good." I said honestly, "Ezra is far better."

"You've changed." Levi commented giving me a sidelong glance, "You're not as headstrong as I remember."

"You talk as if you knew me." I said bitterly. Although I had some kind of understanding of Levi's character from my first and last encounter with him, I still harboured some resentment towards him.

"Kitcha, despite my lack of interest, told me about you." hearing his name was like a knife to the heart, "I heard about what happened, I'm sorry."

"Save your condolences. It never would have happened if you had been there in the first place!" I snapped and stormed away from him. Deep down I knew Kitcha's death hadn't been Levi's fault personally. It was a combination of misinformation, lack of skill and fear that had ultimately led to Kitcha dying. But if Levi hadn't said what he did, Kitcha never would have joined the squadron of men assisting the Survey Corps.

When I made it back to the girl's cabin it was light's out, I hadn't realized how tired I was until my head hit the pillow and my world became black.

The next few months were grueling, our minds and bodies were pushed to breaking point and forced to go further. There wasn't one day when my body didn't ache or my head feel like it was going to explode, and although I tried my best to keep my distance from everyone, Blair, Ezra and Klaus seemed intent on sticking like glue to me. I had also managed to make friends with a strange girl named Sora Snow; she was just like her name, pure and innocent with white hair and eyes violet eyes. Although she looked like a doll she was the best hand-to-hand fighter in our squad. The weeks began to fly by as we were consumed with training, studying, eating, sleeping and repeating.

Levi and the Survey Corps had left the barracks a few weeks after our discussion, not that I had much time to think about him due to training.  
Eventually my body became used to the stress and no longer hurt, my movements in sparring and learning to use the 3DMG became more fluid. However I still wasn't good enough, a fact that was painfully clear to me as Klaus once again put me on my ass.

"You're getting better." he said offering his hand to me, I thanked him and let him pull me to my feet.

"You're still miles ahead of me though." I said dusting the dirt off the back of my pants. Klaus chuckled,

"That's just because I grew up learning this stuff. I don't know why you're so intent on this training though, no one else takes it seriously." he said taking a good long look around at the trainees.

"I want to be strong, that's all." I replied, "Live up to my name. Let's go again." Klaus rolled his eyes and flipped the fake knife over in his hand,

"Never give up, do you?"

"Nope."

We continued to spar, Klaus beating me each time, until Buck called it a day and we slowly trudged into the mess hall. As usual I sat at the back table with Ezra, Klaus and Blair while Sora was being pelted with requests to join other people.

"If only they knew how much of a bitch she could be." Ezra sighed dreamily as Sora kindly declined each invitation with a pleasant smile.

"Hanging around with our Ares has taught her bad habits." Blair agreed solemnly. I ignored their comments and continued to stare blankly at my food. I felt like I was letting my parents and Kitcha down by not being strong enough. I knew that in certain aspects I was far ahead of the other trainees, none of them had ever witnessed the horror of titans so they had no idea how paralyzing that fear was.

"She's brooding again..." Ezra muttered as Sora took her seat beside me.

"I'm not brooding." I replied darkly poking a potato with my fork.

"Okay, and I'm as pretty as Blair." he replied with a sarcastic grin. I looked up and glowered at him silently.

"She's not brooding." Klaus said surprising the four of us, then, as I was about to thank him, added, "She's trying to think of a way to get stronger, aren't you Ares?"

"Stronger? You're in the top five of the strongest trainees! You're second in using the 3D-Maneuver gear, third in hand-to-hand combat and don't even get me started on your stealth and recon skills. What was it that the instructor said?" Blair argued.

"'The best the military has ever seen'" Ezra replied in his best Buck impersonation.

"They're right, Ares. All your skills combined makes you stronger than all of us." Sora agreed, her blue orbs piercingly honest. I sighed, I knew my friends were trying to make me feel better with the facts, and I was grateful, but it just wasn't enough.

"None of you have ever seen a titan before." I said softly, "This training they put us through is nothing compared to actual combat. I don't want to be someone's burden ever again."

"Is it really that terrifying?" Sora asked catching the look in my eye. I nodded,

"Most people freeze at the sight of a titan, some collapse and cry,and others piss themselves, literally. They don't tell us that part in training. I guess they hope we'll never have to find out." I told them. By now the entire mess hall had quietened down and was listening to me. A sombre mood filled the hall and continued well after dinner and light's out.

I awoke the next morning to unexpected news. Some of the Survey Corps had returned to the barracks, Levi amongst them. I caught a glimpse of him as Sora, Blair and I did our morning chores, but I was unsure on whether he noticed me or even cared to. After all, I was more than unfair to him the last time we spoke.

I was daydreaming, my head resting on the mop handle, when Buck's voice ripped me from my thoughts. Immediately I turned and joined Blair and Sora in a salute, knocking the mop to the ground.

"You three are no longer on this cleaning roster." he announced, "Instead you will be personally tending to the Survey Corps. You are to do anything they ask. If they want a bear juggling on a ball, you get into the damn bear costume. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." the three of us said in unison. Buck nodded once then dropped his gaze to the clipboard he was holding,

"Trainees Blair Grey, Sora Snow and Ares Valentin will become Lieutenant Levi's slaves for the duration of his stay."

I gulped and blinked rapidly at the ground. Not Levi. Anyone but Levi. Fear ran up my spine at the thought of seeing him again, I would much rather face several titans than see Levi after the things I'd said to him. I felt the concerned gazes of Blair and Sora long after Buck had gone off to terrorize other trainees, but I stayed glued to the spot.

"Ares? Are you still alive in there?" Blair asked moving into my line of sight, "Helloooo?"

"Do you think she's scared of the Lieutenant?" Sora asked softly, her blonde brows furrowing lightly. Blair scoffed and ran a slender hand through his soft chestnut hair,

"Ares scared? Unlikely...Although I've heard whispers around the place that the Lieutenant doesn't get on well with people..." he said.

"Understatement." I half chocked robotically. Blair and Sora stared at me with quizzical expressions, waiting for me to elaborate.

"Levi hates people, he views them with absolute disdain. However I've noticed that there's a select few members of humanity whom he tolerates. But it's not his temperament that terrifies me..." I said more to myself than the other two, "I wonder if he's forgotten what I said?"

"Who, the Lieutenant? Whoa, you're on speaking terms with him?" Blair gushed excitedly but before I could answer a low, unemotional voice made me freeze.

"You shits have better things to do than standing around talking about which boy you think is the cutest." he growled in annoyance, "I'm quite surprised you found the cleaning supplies, however."

Blair and Sora immediately jumped into a salute while I, yet again, found myself frozen in fear. Blair desperately motioned for me to turn around and greet him properly but my body refused to move. My feet felt like lead attached to solid ice blocks, my heart raced and I could feel cold sweat form on my neck.

He sighed deeply, "You have three seconds to turn around before I kick the shit out of you." I knew enough of Levi to know that if he made a threat he would see it through regardless of gender. So with a deep breath I forced my body to turn around, Levi's expression didn't waver at all as he regarded the three of us with contempt.

"Smart choice." he said, his grey eyes slid to the mop that I had dropped earlier, "Pick that up and follow me." Without waiting for our reply, Levi spun on his heel and marched away.

"I thought you were going to die." Sora said as I picked up the mop, "He's so scary!"

"And short..." Blair added while we jogged to catch up, "I really didn't think he'd be that small."

"I really didn't think you'd make it through the first day of training." I muttered. Blair laughed,

"Point taken. But you never answered my question before, do you know him?"

Gripping the mop handle tighter, I nodded, "Sort of. He saved my life once."

Levi was waiting for us outside his quarters, arms crossed and looking irritable,

"I want this room spotless by the time I get back. God help you if it's not." he said before stalking off again. I glared at his back, forgetting my fear once I remembered how much of an asshole he was. Blair opened the door and peeked inside, the room was, at least to our eyes, clean.

"Is he for real?" he asked walking into the middle of the room, "There's nothing to do?" I scoffed and followed him in, glancing around I could see tiny specks of dust clinging stubbornly to shelves, the bed had been hastily made and so bits of fabric were sticking out, and near invisible dirt piles had been swept into the corners of the room.

Cracking my neck and tying my hair up I quickly began delegating jobs - Sora, after retrieving the cleaning supplies we needed would sweep the dirt piles out from the corners, Blair would be doing the bed and I would do the dusting. When we were all finished, we would scrub the walls and floor.

My hands were numb by the time Levi returned - four hours later - but the room was sparkling. Blair, Sora and I waited in silent anticipation as Levi meticulously checked each and every crevice in the room for dirt. He wiped his handkerchief over everything, scrutinized the tiniest mark to make sure it wasn't dirt and then, when he was finished, turned back to us.

He let out a deep breath, "It seems talking isn't the only thing you brats are good at. Well done." As if we'd all been released from staring down the barrel of a gun, we let out a loud sigh and deflated.

"You two are dismissed," he said to Blair and Sora, "You stay, Valentin, I want to talk to you." Blair gave my shoulder a sympathetic pat as he and Sora turned to leave.

"Close the door." Levi ordered me when they were gone. I swallowed the lump in my throat and did as commanded. When I turned back to face him, Levi was sitting on the edge of his freshly made bed, smoothing out the non-existent creases.

"A-" I began unsure whether I should actually speak or just bite my tongue, but when he looked up at me I felt it was alright to continue, "About the last time we spoke..."

"Save it." he said holding up his hand to stop me, "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"But, sir-" I began to protest but the look he gave me made me shut up right away. Instead I lowered my head and stayed quiet, waiting for him to talk. The room was silent for several era-long seconds until suddenly a soft chuckle from Levi broke quiet,

"You still piss me off." he remarked quietly. I looked up curiously to see him staring distantly out of the window,

"Sir?"

"You've only been here a few months and they've managed to turn you into an obedient little shit sniffer."

I blinked at Levi in confusion, but instead of speaking, I just shifted on the spot.

"Oh for God's sake sit down before you fall down." he hissed become annoyed at my fidgeting.

"Yes, sir." I said and did as I was told, sitting on one of the two wooden chairs. The wood was cold and hard and my body cried at the uncomfortableness of it, but it wouldn't be right if I sat on the soft, tempting bed.

Again Levi sighed, "Since you've become the good, obedient dog suddenly, I forbid you to use the word 'sir' in my presence while we're talking in private."

"Yes, s-..er I mean, um..." I stuttered. Levi rolled his eyes and glared at me,

"It seems they've destroyed what little brain cells you had too. You, Ares." he said pointing at me and then pressed his hand to his chest, "Me, Levi. Your younger self would be in hysterics seeing you like this."

That was it. I couldn't take his berating anymore. I knew talking back to a senior officer would be counted as insubordination but there was only so much a person could take.

"Look, I still have a lot of things I need to be doing, and frankly cleaning up horse shit is more appealing than sitting here listening to you be an asshole. So if that's all," I said standing and saluting, "I'll be going now, sir."

"Oh so you are still in there." he commented as I reached for the door handle, "I was wondering how much it would take before you appeared."

"What exactly are you trying to say. I'm pretty stupid, remember, so you'll have to spell it out for me." I muttered angrily. Levi smirked and stood up from the bed,

"Nice to see you again, Ares." he said walking towards me, I glowered at him and crossed my arms unsuccessfully trying to intimidate him. Instead, Levi sat in the chair opposite the one I had been previously sitting in.

"Sit down. There's things we need to talk about." he said kicking out the chair with his foot. Reluctantly I took the seat knowing I didn't have a choice in the matter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Reminder: Hey guys, just a reminder that Hange is non-binary so it's up to you, the reader, to decide what gender you would prefer Hange to be. **

It was past lights out by the time I got back to the dorm, all the girls, aside from Sora, were already asleep as I crept in through the window. She bombarded me with questions while I quietly changed into my pyjamas. I tried to answer as best I could without breaking the oath of secrecy I had sworn, and eventually evaded her persistent badgering by claiming I was exhausted. But the information Levi had told me kept me restlessly tossing and turning.

I was sluggish the next morning from lack of sleep which made training extra difficult. While waiting for the signal to commence an ambush on a fake titan, I had fallen asleep. Ezra had to slap me awake which caused me to fall out of the tree we were hiding in. Buck gave me 100 laps as punishment. But my troubles didn't stop there. I missed out on lunch because I'd been running laps, accidentally walked in on a senior officer's meeting about classified information and Klaus didn't even have to try when it came to my fighting abilities. To top it all off, Blair, Sora and I had to play wait staff for Levi and two other officers.

"Ugh, someone bring me more black tea." Levi groaned as a captain with a mess of chocolate hair tied in a pony tail, and glasses, whom Levi had oh so affectionately nicknamed Four Eyes, gushed on about titan behavior.

"Hange, I really don't think this is the suitable time to be discussing this topic." Commander Erwin Smith said gently as he glanced at me and Blair trying to blend into the shadows of the room. Levi waved his hand dismissively at the Commander's comment,

"I doubt they can even comprehend what we're talking about." he said giving us a side-long glance, "Besides, if anything leaves this room that shouldn't, they'll have me to deal with." Beside me, Blair gulped under Levi's cold stare. I was too tired to care about his threat so I just stayed slumped against the wall.

"If you keep threatening people, no one will like you."

"Four Eyes, when I want your opinion I'll be sure gauge my eyes out before I ask, but until that day I won't have any problems shoving your opinions up your ass." Levi replied turning his cold eyes on the Captain. I chuckled quietly to myself, earning a sharp jab to the ribs courtesy of Blair. However, in a small, silent room, even breathing sounds loud so the three senior officers heard my laugh. Hange looked at me with a curious yet kind smile, whereas the stern expression I received from the Commander made my hand shoot to my mouth.

"I thought you'd died back there, Ares, since you've been so quiet." Levi commented with his back to me.

"Ares?" Hange asked with raised eyebrows, "So that's the kid you- Ouch!" Levi gave Hange a violent kick in the shin, shutting the captain up instantly. I stared at Levi's back - he had absolutely no regard for the chain of command. It was completely shocking, yet they let him get away with it. Sure he was the best soldier humanity had, but even he shouldn't be exempt from military law.

"That really hurt!" Hange complained violently rubbing the sore area. Erwin sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose,

"When will you two stop acting like children. You're both adults for Christ's sake." He muttered just as Sora returned with a fresh pot of tea and three cups.

"Finally! I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost." Levi remarked as Sora went about pouring.

"Sorry, sir. I couldn't find any black tea." she said softly, her hands shaking as she tried to pour the steaming liquid into his cup, but she managed to do it without spilling anything. Levi blew on the steam before taking a sip, his face contorted in an ugly expression.

"What the hell is this?" he asked spitting the tea back into the cup.

"Um...tea, sir?" Sora replied unsurely and wringing her hands nervously.

"Tea? You call _this_ tea? This tastes like watered down horse shit." he said coldly, "Go back and make it again."

From my slouching spot, I could see the tears well up in Sora's eyes as she took the tray back, china clattered noisily as she continued to shake. Pursing my lips I decided that I would save her from Levi's temper and pushed off the wall. Blair swiped at my wrist to stop me but I shook him off.

"Here." I said snatching the tray from a terrified Sora, "I'll make the damn tea."

"N-no, I messed it up. I'll do it." Sora said meekly as she tried to retrieve the tray I'd stolen.

"Don't be stupid. You're shaking too much to even carry this, just go stand with Blair." I said as I shouldered her out of the way. I felt a burning sensation as if someone was staring at my back as I left, but I ignored it and went to the kitchen to make Levi's stupid tea. I sighed as the water boiled, I knew that I had been a bit harsh when talking to Sora, but it would have been far worse if she came back and Levi still didn't like the tea. I could take his criticisms, she couldn't.

When I returned with a fresh pot of steaming black tea, Hange was babbling animatedly about titan research while Erwin tried to look interested. Blair and Sora were standing to the side, heads nodding drowsily. Levi, however, looked openly bored with his eyes closed and cheek resting on his hand, reclined back in his chair. Actually, in his current position, he looked kind of handsome. Quickly, I shook the thought from my head as soon as it arrived.

His grey eyes snapped open as soon as he smelt the bitter, smokey scent of the tea, and he leaned forward expectantly. Carefully I poured the dark liquid into a cup; Hange's chatter had quietened as everyone's attention was drawn to me and my tea skills.

Levi inhaled deeply before blowing on the steam again. I saw Sora in my peripheral vision clutch her chest tightly, praying that Levi wouldn't go all crazy. I watched him quietly as he took a sip, and then another, and a third.

"Valentin," he said placing the cup back on the saucer, "congratulations. You're in charge of making tea."

"Oh joy." I replied sarcastically before rejoining Blair and Sora. Soon enough the three senior officers went back to talking about things we trainees shouldn't know about. Blair took the opportunity to lecture me on my attitude towards Levi.

"He doesn't care." I shrugged slouching against the wall again and crossing my arms. Blair shook his head, chestnut hair falling into his eyes,

"It doesn't matter. He's a Lieutenant, you should treat him with respect whether he cares or not." he chastised. I glared at the floor becoming irritated. I know Blair was trying to keep me out of trouble, but he knew nothing about this.

"Blair, I'm only going to say this once," I said ice in my tone, "Stay out of it."

Blair took a step back, shocked that I would talk to him like that, but kept quiet. Neither Sora nor Blair spoke to me for the remainder of the night, even after Captain Hange and Commander Erwin had left.

"Remember, none of what you heard tonight leaves this room. And if I find out that one of you has been forgetful, you'll have more than titans to be afraid of." Levi warned us, "Valentin and Snow, you're dismissed - Grey I want to have words with you."

I didn't hesitate to leave, I knew what Levi would be talking to him about and, quite frankly I was too tired to wait any longer.

Blair looked worse than death the next morning, obviously the discussion last night had left him the way it left me. While taking a break from being beaten by Klaus I decided to check on him.

"You look like shit." I remarked lightly as I crouched in front of him, "Didn't get much sleep?"

"No. Is this how you felt yesterday?" he asked as he drew circles in the dirt. I nodded and blew the sweaty strands of hair out of my face,

"So I take it he told you the same thing he told me? About the..._graduation_?"

"Yeah...I still can't believe it. I really didn't think they'd do this kind of thing so early on. We've only been here not even a year...He said that there was others, do you think they'll pick Ezra as well?" he asked looking up and squinting from the sunlight. I shrugged and looked over to where the tall bean stalk was sparring with another member of our squad, Red Wallace. Red was your typical attractive, insensitive, jerk who deeply over-estimated his abilities.

"To be honest, I haven't given it much thought." I confessed, "I guess I hope they don't..."

"Yeah." Blair agreed as we watched Red throw Ezra to the ground. After giving Blair a reassuring pat on the shoulder, I decided it was time to go back to Klaus. He was talking to someone, his back to me, as I made my way over to him. I was about to ask when I felt a warm and uncomfortable heavy wetness on my neck.

"Well if it isn't the scary Titan Slayer." Red said, his voice husky and dripping with sweetness, "You know, I've been thinking..."

"There's a first." I muttered shrugging his arm off me. Red clutched his chest melodramatically and scoffed,

"I'm hurt."

"Not yet, but keep talking and you will be." I warned him. Red just laughed at my threat and jogged to keep up with me,

"That's what I like about you, Valentin. You act so tough, but I bet underneath that," he flipped the corner of my jacket up teasingly, "cold exterior, you're desperate to be touched."

I stopped walking and looked up at him. Red gazed down at me, his gold eyes glimmering suggestively. I had never paid too much attention to him before as I found people like him, who thought everyone was lower than them just because of certain circumstances, pathetic however it was hard to ignore the sweat gleaming on his tanned forehead at this proximity.

"Instead of that pretty boy, why don't see what a real man's like?" he continued when I didn't reply.

"A real man is defined by his actions not his words."

Red frowned and turned to see who the mysterious eavesdropper was while I dropped my head to hide the small smirk that had appeared on my face, I didn't need to see his face to know who it was.

"My father said a real man is the one who gets what he wants, no matter what," Red replied arrogantly however his cockiness only earned a snide scoff in response.

"You're father is an idiot, and you are more ridiculous than he is if you believe that bullshit." Levi replied, "Wouldn't you agree, Valentin?"

"Couldn't have said it better, sir." I replied stepping out from behind Red. Levi gave us a nod and turned to leave. An idea suddenly formed in my head as I watched his back - a stupid, brilliant idea.

"_That_ guy is a Lieutenant? What a joke - hey, Valentin, where are you going?" Red called as I jogged past him. I ignored him and caught up to Levi, standing in his way obnoxiously.

"I really must stop doing things out of the kindness of my heart when it comes to you." Levi sighed and giving me an annoyed glare, "It's becoming a bad habit..."

"Train me?" I asked suddenly, surprising him and the trainees there happened to be near by. Levi raised a dark, fine eyebrow at my request. I stood firmly as the trainees began to whisper to each other.

"What?"

"I want you to train me...sir."

I was in a large green field lying on my back staring up at the white fluffy clouds. I couldn't recall a time where I felt this peaceful and calm. Something warm enclosed my right hand, I looked over to see Felix grinning widely at me; his tousled brown hair had grass and leaves tangled within it's curls.

"Felix..." I whispered making my younger brother smile more and giggle silently. His big green eyes, so full of wonder, slid from my face to focus on something behind me. I followed his gaze, my heart stopping when I saw the lazy smile and kind eyes of Isaiah. Falling against his broad chest I clung to my brother tightly, afraid that if he would disappear should I let him go. I felt him sigh as he patted my head comfortingly. Felix tugged at my shirt and pointed to a nearby hill where two figures were approaching; my father with his wide smile and my mother with her kind eyes. My brothers, who looked so much like our parents, ran to meet them leaving me on the ground still.

"Kid..." a voice whispered on the wind. It was a voice I recognized, a voice I loved, "You know you shouldn't be up here."

"Kitcha? Where are you?!" I cried as I frantically searched for him. My family was here, so why wasn't Kitcha?

"Ares..." the wind called, "Wake up."

"I don't want to." I pouted childishly. My happiness was here, how could I possibly leave it?

"Too bad." the voice began to change, growing louder and deeper, "You wanted this, remember?" I frowned, I had been positive that Kitcha had been talking to me seconds ago but this voice didn't belong to Kitcha. Images began flashing before me, images of blood and fire and death.

"Stop it." I pleaded covering my eyes with my hands as an attempt to block out the images, but it was useless. The terrible images were in my mind and I was powerless to escape them. They got faster, memories of my parents and brothers mixed in with the violent, horrific scenes, I could hear screaming and crying.

"Stop it!" I begged again falling to my knees, my hands clutching my head. But still the images got faster. Huge human-like creatures, and a young looking man with a crescent scar on the right side of his face smiling sweetly at me were added to the movie in my head. I didn't want to see this again, I didn't want to remember. Not again. But this world had other ideas. The earth underneath my knees opened into a great chasm and I was soon falling into it. The images that ravaged my mind were being displayed on the earth's walls as I fell. Something warm and strangely comforting wrapped around my shoulders, it felt as though I was being pressed to something hard.

"Valentin, wake up. It's just a dream." the mysterious voice ordered firmly. Just a dream? I was falling through the world, seeing my family die all over again, and it was just a dream? Some dream...

I opened my eyes but all I could see was darkness, but it was warm and safe and smelt like soap, caffeine and the hint of tobacco. It was a scent I knew but just couldn't figure out, perhaps because I was still shaken from my dream. My face felt damp and hot, my arms and legs were still numb from sleep but my eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness. It was a person who was hold me, a male, wearing a white shirt and brown jacket. I could just make out the Wings of Freedom insignia on the left breast pocket which meant this was someone from the Survey Corps. Someone who smelt like soap, caffeine and...

I gasped, my mind waking up straight away from the shock, as I pushed out of his hold.

"L-Lev-" his hand shot to my mouth, muffling my cry of surprise.

"Shut up, idiot." he hissed quietly, "I can get in serious shit for this." I just blinked at him, thankful that there was no light in the cabin so he couldn't see my bright red face.

"Get dressed and meet me outside." he ordered removing his hand and standing up. He looked back down at me before shaking his head and sighing,

"Don't make me regret this."

I did as I was told and quickly dressed before sneaking outside. Levi was leaning against the side of the cabin, arms folded over his chest, waiting for me. I hesitated for a moment at the edge of the light; I had asked him to train me but now it was actually happening, I was having second thoughts. What if, despite his efforts, I just was physically inept or worse?

"I could be sleeping right now, Valentin, yet here I am waiting for your pathetic ass, so if you're having second thoughts don't even bother about wasting my time anymore." Levi's voice was the push I needed. Shoving all my fears into the back of my mind, I readied myself for a whole new world of pain and took the first step towards the future.


	4. Chapter 4 - Time Skip

I lay panting on the sweat covered dirt, my wet hair and clothes clung to me like wrapping. My body ached, but it was an ache I'd grown to love and although I was exhausted I felt like I could do anything.

"You should put your jacket back on." Blair commented from his spot on the ground as he tossed it at my head. It landed just centimeters from my face, puffing up loose dust.

"Why?" I huffed giving my best friend a side-long glance. Blair's cheeks turned pale pink as he grasped for words.

"What I think your boyfriend is trying to say is that white goes transparent when it's wet." Levi sighed as I sat up, his grey eyes stared at me expectantly urging me to understand his meaning. I chuckled,

"You face titans on a regular basis and you," I said pointing to Blair, "you've been with more women than I care to imagine, and yet you're both too afraid to even say the word 'breast'."

"That's different!" Blair argued, "These are your..."

"Breasts?" I supplied cupping them, Blair's face turned a darker shade of red as he nodded and looked away from me. I turned my attention back to Levi lazing against the wall, "And what's your excuse?"

"What makes you think I'm afraid to say 'breasts'? I'm in contact with yours everyday." he shrugged, "Stop doing that."

"Why?" I asked smirking and continuing to jiggle my breasts , "Getting turned on are you?"

Levi just continued to stare at me with his usual blank expression.

"Don't be ridiculous." he said finally blowing out a breath and pushing off the wall.

"Go shower, you smell like a man." he said as he walked past me. I laughed and stood up, not bothering to try and dust the dirt off my pants. Blair and I returned to the other trainees who were just starting to wake up; by now I had stopped hiding that I was doing extra training and they had stopped asking. I showered with Sora, taking my time to make sure I was super clean since today was a special day.

Once everyone was clean and showered we all made our way to the mess hall where breakfast was being served. Everyone was in an especially good mood, talking louder than normal and being nicer, everyone but Red.

"So, I assume you're going to join the Survey Corps since you and that Lieutenant are pretty close, right?" he said as we stood in line for food. I shrugged,

"Maybe."

"Tsk, shoulda picked you for the older guys." he said with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes and stepped forward, he was not going to get on my nerves today. My shoulders became heavy as he slung his long arm around them,

"Maybe I'll join the Survey Corps and steal you away from him?" Red said thoughtfully.

"You won't be stealing her from anyone." Blair announced as he joined the conversation, "I won't let you." Red grinned and leaned down to poke Blair's forehead,

"Oh yeah? And how would you be doing that, Flower Boy?" he teased. Blair glared daggers at Red and slapped his hand away. I sighed and, turning to look him in the eye, removed his arm from my shoulders.

"If you want to join the Survey Corps, that's fine. But don't make others the reason for your choices. Decide for yourself, that way you won't be anyone's burden." I told him. Red blinked at me surprised by my words, and continued to stand there until after Blair and I had gotten our food and joined Klaus, Sora and Ezra. Eventually he returned to reality and disappeared into his crowd of friends.

"So this is it..." Ezra said melodramatically as he stared at his food, "the last breakfast we'll have together."

"It's not like you to be the downer of the group, Ez." Blair said poking him in the arm with the butt of his knife.

"Are you trying to steal my job?" I accused him jokingly. Ezra grinned widely and shook his head. However, the jokes just weren't funny as we all realized that what Ezra said was true. Blair and I would be going to the Survey Corps, Ezra and Klaus were going to the Garrison and Sora was going to join the Military Police. We would never see each other again, at least not like this. There was the chance that we would see each other in passing, that was true, however it wouldn't be as friends.

"You know Ares," Sora said softly, "you never did tell us why you changed your mind."

"I guess things just changed. I woke up one day and decided that the Survey Corps was where I was supposed to be." I shrugged, Blair gave me a knowing look. Of course he knew I was lying, he was the only one of our friends who knew the truth. But we had been sworn not to tell anyone, and so we wouldn't.

"Do you think it's what your parents would have wanted?" Klaus asked, his dark eyes filled with worry. I gave him a warm smile as a thanks,

"My parents spent their lives wondering what was outside the walls, they died trying to find out. I don't think it would be what they would've wanted, but I don't think they would be disappointed." I replied placing my hand over his comfortingly, "Besides, Blair will be there to protect me."

"Yeah man," Blair said elbowing Klaus in the bicep, "I got this."

Klaus nodded once understanding that neither of us would let each other die. I wished I could have told him that it wouldn't just be me and Blair looking out for each other and eased his mind more, but I couldn't. I just prayed that he and Ezra would stay safe and not do anything stupid.

The five of us spent the rest of the day in each others company, reminiscing about the past three years we'd been together, until the sun began to set and we had to go to our different fates. We stood in rows just like our first day, fists over our hearts, standing proud and tall. Instructor Buck stepped onto the platform with a man I recognized to be Commander Erwin to address us.

"Trainees of the 97th Squad, it has been three long, hard years since you brats walked in here snot nosed and big grinning faces. Now, here you stand before me, not as kids anymore but as soldiers, strong and brave men and woman who are eager to defend humanity! There were many times I thought that none of you were going to make it this far, you all faced hardships and pain, physical and mental, throughout these years and more often than not at my own hands. I have watched you all suffer with a stern face, but you fought right on back and proved yourselves to be the strong men and women I see before me! I'm proud of all of you." Buck said looking at all of us one by one, "Now is the time to consider which of three paths you will take. The Survey Corps, the Garrison or the Military Police. However, only the top ten trainees get the privilege to protect the King."

I glanced down the line at the faces of those who made it to the top ten, Klaus stood in the number one place, followed by Sora, me, Red, a boy from my home town named Gene, triplets from a small farming town nearby, Leslie Dallas and Archibald Gregory who everyone had greatly underestimated because of his frail form. I could tell that majority of the people up here would join the Military Police, in fact I was sure that the only three who wouldn't were Klaus, Gene and myself. Gene's father and older brothers were in the Garrison and he wanted to follow in their footsteps. I couldn't blame him.

"I hand you now to the Commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith." Buck announced bringing my attention back to the platform.

"Congratulations, all of you, on coming this far. I'm not going to deny the reason of why I'm here. As you can all guess, I'm here to recruit some if not all of you to join the Survey Corps. Many people call our line of work suicide, and it's true, I cannot guarantee the safety of every human being who steps outside those gates. However, without those who sacrificed their lives, we wouldn't be able to do what we do. So I ask you now, those who wish to join either the Military Police or Garrison please leave now."

I stood firm, knowing that I had no choice in the matter any more. As I expected, most of the top ten trainees left, leaving only myself, Archie and surprisingly Red. More than half of the 97th had left in a matter of minutes, but Erwin seemed content with the number remaining.

"Those of you who stayed are truly the definition of brave. I know it's not an easy thing to face your fear, so I thank you." he said before turning to leave. I let out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding and glanced around to find Blair. He was standing near the back staring straight ahead, his big blue eyes confident. He'd wanted to be here in the first place so this decision wasn't hard for him at all.

"Valentin." a gruff voice called catching my attention. I turned around to see Buck walking towards me, Commander Erwin by his side and a few senior officers trailing behind them.

"Sir?" I asked curiously. It was rare that Buck would talk to me unless it was an appraisal or I'd messed up badly.

"I didn't actually think the Survey Corps would be your style. You were intent on joining the Garrison last we spoke about it." he commented. My gaze shifted to Commander Erwin, his face held no emotion besides calm but there was knowing in his eyes.

"Change of heart I guess." I replied. Buck raised an eyebrow and glanced in Blair's direction,

"Well, I sincerely hope you do the right thing." he said giving my shoulder a strong squeeze.

"See you tomorrow, Ares." Erwin said when Buck had started talking to Archie. I nodded and left to see how Blair was doing. On my way over, I heard some chatter between Red and another trainee.

"...I stayed because you did..."

"You shouldn't make decisions because of someone else, that's stupid."

I stopped in my tracks, was Red actually trying to quote me? Sure enough he was towering over a young girl. I hadn't remembered ever seeing her before; she was tiny, a good head shorter than me, with long dark hair styled in a thick braid. Red sighed and placed one hand on his hip, the other pinched the bridge of his nose. It was strange, Red seemed concerned for this girl's well being but he was the kind of person who only thought about himself.

"Then I'm stupid?" the girl huffed angrily. Red dropped his hand,

"Yes! You're stupid for even coming here!" he snapped, "I should have told you to leave before all this."

"I just wanted to help you!" She cried, even in the low light I could see the tears glistening down her face. Before Red had a chance to reply, she took off towards the exit leaving him standing there. Again Red sighed and ran a hand through his wavy brown hair and kicked the dirt.

"You ready?" Blair asked as he joined me. Red heard him and looked up over at us; it was evident from his expression that he knew I had witnessed the exchange between him and the girl.

"Yeah." I replied turning away from Red to walk with Blair. Red groaned and with his head dropped, stalked out of the grounds to join the rest of the kids who'd stayed. Tomorrow we would begin our journey to the Survey Corps HQ to start our training.

Blair and I met the other trainees at the stables, they were all chatting idly and fidgeting nervously. The only two besides Blair and myself that showed emotion other than being utterly terrified were Red, who leaned casually against the door of a stall with his arms folded, and the girl he'd been talking to the night before. Red's golden eyes immediately glanced towards me and then fell back to the ground in shame or embarrassment. His reaction obviously had something to do with the conversation I had overheard the night before, and for some unholy reason I felt compelled to talk to him about it.

"Go apologize." I said softly as I sat on a bench beside him. Red huffed and turned his head in the opposite direction,

"I have no idea what you're talking about." he said stubbornly. I looked to Blair for help, I wasn't good with people and I sure as hell didn't have the emotional skills to be able to counsel someone. Blair rolled his eyes and let out a long breath,

"Look, girls are weird and complicated. They say one thing but mean something completely different. Us guys just can never understand everything that goes on in their heads, but if Ares is actually trying to help you to get back in that girl's good graces, maybe you should drop that shitty tough guy attitude and listen to her. She may not be good at being a normal human being, but underneath that manly exterior she really is a girl."

"There was a compliment in there somewhere." I muttered before turning back to Red, "But he's right. I don't know what kind of relationship you two have, but from the conversation I heard last night you both care about each other."

"Wow, you two are really something, you know?" Red said, I guessed by the sarcasm in his tone that it wasn't meant as a compliment, "Seriously, I mean you walk in here all stone-faced and Ice Queen, get into bed with the One Man Army and suddenly you think you're better than everyone here? And you just follow her around like a lovesick dog."

"This is why no one likes you. We're trying to help you!" Blair yelled angrily, "And don't act like you haven't been pining after Ares since the moment she dropped your ungrateful ass to the dirt."

The trainees had all stopped chatting and were staring at the three of us. This was rapidly getting out of hand and I needed to stop it before someone got hurt. Red began yelling back at Blair as I stood from my bench, about to step in, but movement from the corner of my eye made me stop. The girl Red had been arguing with the night before stood away from the gathering trainees, hands clutched to her chest and a look of worry graced her small face. It was then I realized who she was.

I slapped myself mentally - how could I have been so blind?! They had the same colored eyes, the same wavy hair, the same tanned skin. It was so obvious! Her golden eyes shifted to me and I gave her a slight smile before standing between the two feuding men.

"Enough, both of you." I said placing my hands on both their chests and pushing them apart.

"Ares he-"

"Blair, stop. It's okay, just let it go." I said and then turned to Red, "She's your sister, isn't she? That's why you're so protective over her."

Red took a step back, surprised I had uncovered the secret he was trying to keep, "Don't be ridiculous."

"Red...Don't lie anymore." a soft voice chimed in causing everyone to turn from us to face the small girl in the back.

"Shut up." he snapped, "She's not my sister and this is none of your business Ares, so stay out if it."

"Meredith!"

It was like time froze. The birds stopped their cheerful singing, the slight breeze died and nobody moved an inch. The small girl pushed her way through the trainees to stand in front of Red, and taking his hand in hers, addressed the group.

"I know that, for most of you, this is the first time you've seen my face. I spent the past three years trying not to make myself noticed, staying average in everything I did because I didn't want Red to know I was here." she said before turning to him, "I didn't want to be your burden, I wanted to help you in secret because I know you would have done everything you could to get me out, even if it meant giving up your dream."

"Morgan..."

"Please let me finish." she begged, "I knew that eventually you would find out, but I guess I was hoping it would be too late to change anything. It's been hard for you having to look after me all the time, but you're my brother...you're all the family I have left, please don't make me leave."

"I'm afraid your brother doesn't get to make the decisions." Commander Erwin announced. The crowd of trainees that had gathered whilst Blair and Red were having their argument, split and revealed the Commander and a small gathering of senior officers including Captain Hange and Levi.

"Pathetic." Levi muttered crossing his arms and looking towards the gate, uninterested in what was going on.

"Commander." Red gasped before automatically straightening and saluting, everyone besides Blair and myself followed suit, "Please don't let my sister join the Survey Corps, she's still a kid."

"I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do. It doesn't matter what reasons she's joined the Corps for, she's here now and she's staying. That's final. Now mount up, we're leaving." Erwin said and walked toward his own horse. Trainees scurried around saddling their horses and making sure everything was ready for the journey, all except me, Morgan, Red and Blair. We stayed where we were. Hange approached Red and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder,

"Don't worry, if she made it this far she's gotta be strong. Besides, it's not like we send rookies out on scouting missions straight up." the captain said with a wide, gentle smile. Red just scoffed and kicked the dirt once more. Hange squeezed Red's shoulder before walking to join the Commander, but stopped to talk to me.

"I think I see now why Levi chose you."

"Captain?" I asked frowning but Hange just laughed and continued over to Erwin. Blair and I exchanged a look of confusion, but our attention was quickly called back to Red. Again.

Now it was Levi standing before him, his normal cold stare seemed darker somehow. I hadn't had the pleasure of being the source of Levi's anger yet, and I really didn't want to be. I'd felt the strength behind his kicks and punches and I knew that he was far more powerful than what most people believed. I felt Blair's hand enclose my wrist, ready to hold me back should something occur.

"I was wrong when I said you were ridiculous." Levi began, although it sounded like an apology, I knew him well enough to know that it was just the beginning of a harsher insult, "I should have called you weak and pathetic. For all your talk about knowing what a real man is, you act more like a child throwing a tantrum."

"Excuse me?" Red asked, shocked at this sudden outburst.

"No, I'm not finished." Levi replied stepping closer into Red's personal space, "While you and Pretty Boy over there were having a lover's quarrel, we heard everything." Red's face dropped and beside me, Blair gulped.

"Lieutenant, I am so sorry. I didn't mean-" Red gushed but just like he did with me, Levi raised his hand to silence the apology.

"If I ever hear you speak that way about her, or anyone who is kind enough to help your useless ass, I will personally make your life pure agony until the day you die. Understand?" he hissed dangerously. Dark grey eyes slid towards us and Blair stiffened. Levi marched off leaving more than one person terrified in his wake. Without any more talk, we mounted up and headed out towards the Survey Corps HQ.

We'd been riding for three hours, Blair and I were with the rest of the new recruits bringing up the rear. Morgan, Red's younger sister had taken a place beside me, while her brother stayed at the very back, head hung low and not speaking to anyone. It seemed as though he was taking Levi's threats very seriously.

"Let's take a break!" Erwin shouted, his voice reaching from the head of the convoy all the way to us at the back. I sighed with relief and steered my horse away from everyone else. It hurt to dismount as my backside and thighs screamed with protest. I'd never been good at riding, it was like my body just refused to stay sitting on a horse for long periods of time, yet I found comfort beyond measure just being around the creatures. The dark brown beast nuzzled my hand as I gave him a tender and thankful pat before letting him eat his fill of grass.

"Perhaps we should have covered riding in our lessons." Levi mused as he led his black stallion over to join my horse.

"Even with your teaching, I would still be terrible." I confessed sitting down on a convenient log and massaged my thighs. Levi gave a short chuckle and sat down beside me,

"You'll get used to it." he said simply and handed me a canteen full of water. I took it graciously and swallowed several mouthfuls of the cool liquid, I hadn't known I was so thirsty. Half was gone by the time I handed it back to him. Levi shook his head,

"Tsk. I have to stop being so nice to you." he said taking a sip of water before screwing the lid back on tightly. I grinned at him,

"Sorry."

"Children are so very frustrating." he muttered to the sky. I rolled my eyes at his comment and leaned back on my hands,

"It's not my fault you old people are so grumpy." I retorted. Levi scoffed and joined me in leaning back,

"Old? You make it sound like I'm 30 years older than I really am." he said becoming annoyed.

I shrugged and smiled, "Well, if I'm a child, you must be an old man." Levi's grey eyes narrowed at the horizon but his expression had softened. I thought back to the day I'd first met him, when he'd saved me from doing something stupid. I'd thought that he had been an honorable, kind man which was why I'd looked up to him as much as I did. Most would call him cold and rude, I had too in the past. But I had been ignorant and stupid. Levi, despite his exterior, was warm and kind, he just wasn't good with words.

"I'm not that much older than Kitcha..." Levi said quietly, catching my attention. His face had taken on a new expression and my heart sank to my stomach. Kitcha. He would have been turning 30 this year. I glanced up at Levi, he looked so much younger than he was. At first glance most people would assume he was maybe 20, two years older than me.

"I don't blame you, you know." I said suddenly. Levi's eyes slid to my face questioningly, "I know I said I did, but I don't. I never really did."

"You've waited this long to tell me that?" he asked softly, grey eyes piercing. I sighed and look at my boots,

"I didn't know how to tell you. And in my defense I did try, you stopped me." I confessed, "After that, I just didn't know if I should bring it up again."

Levi let out a long breath and sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "I didn't know. I told you before that people like you piss me off because I can't figure you out." I stared at his back, had he been feeling guilty all this time? Was that why he'd been more attentive towards me, out of guilt?

"Levi, I-"

"If you're thinking guilt was the reason I gave your name to Erwin, don't. Your reconnaissance skills are a great asset to us." he said interrupting me again. I sighed deeply, I had considered that that was the reason he did it, but it wasn't the way he worked. Without thinking I put my hand on his strong shoulder,

"What I was going to say was that I was sorry for not telling you." I said squeezing his shoulder gently, "And for being difficult to figure out."

"Oh." was all he muttered. I shook my head, he really was terrible at this. Still it made me feel better that he was allowing me to see this side of him. We continued to sit on the log in silence, just resting until Erwin called for us to mount up again. As I walked begrudgingly over to where my horse had wandered, Levi gave me some tips on how to lessen the pain before leaving to find his own horse. I watched as he effortlessly hoisted himself into the saddle and generally just interacted with his horse. It wasn't until mine nudged me gently that I realized I was staring at him. Blushing with embarrassment, I quickly mounted up and followed the instructions Levi I had given me.

We didn't stop again until we reached HQ. Although the tips Levi had given me had indeed lessened the pain in my legs, buttocks and ankles, it still hurt. However it seemed that I wasn't the only one feeling the pain which made me feel better. After unsaddling our horses we made our way around the grounds with two of the more seasoned soldiers, got our uniforms and assigned bedrooms. However during the tour of the inside, Blair and I were secretly pulled out to speak with Commander Erwin.

"How are you feeling after the ride?" he asked with his back facing us, looking out the window.

"Fine, sir." we both answered in unison. Erwin turned around, a soft, gentle smile on his face,

"You can talk freely to me. After all you're not exactly recruits." he said. Blair and I exchanged a nervous glance, but I took the initiative.

"Being totally honest, the ride was torture." I said, "I don't think my legs have ever been this sore."

"Not even in your training with Levi?" Erwin asked. I blanched, how did he know about that?

"No need to look so shocked, Ares. I had suggested it to him, but he'd said that he already had a mind to." he continued taking a seat behind his desk, "I apologize for your sore limbs, it's something you'll get used to. What about you, Grey?"

"No problems, sir." Blair replied as someone knocked on the door.

"Enter." Erwin said. The door creaked open and in walked Captain Hange and Levi. Grey eyes met mine briefly and my cheeks grew red as I remembered staring at him a few hours ago.

"We were just indulging some small talk while we waited for you two." Erwin announced, "Down to business. What I'm about to tell you cannot ever leave this room, if it does it could very possibly mean all of our deaths." I suddenly felt the weight of his words press down on me heavily. A glance at Blair told me he was feeling the exact same. It was like our trainee days all over again.

"A few years ago I uncovered a very dangerous secret, a matter of being somewhere at the right time. However, I'm not sure whether it is true or not, so I decided to task two elite teams to investigate." Erwin informed us.

"So you mean a secret investigation fraction inside an investigation fraction of the army?" Blair asked. Erwin nodded,

"In the lamest terms, yes. You'll two have been chosen to lead these two teams, however your objectives will be very different. Grey, your team will revolve mainly around the investigation of the secret that I will impart to you both shortly. Valentin, I want your team to focus more on uncovering the truth about Titans; however if my hunch is correct you will be both be on the same path."

"So that means I'll be working with Captain Hange and Levi, I mean Lieutenant Levi, occasionally?" I asked. Erwin nodded,

"Operating in public as two Special Ops teams, which means you'll both be working regularly with Levi and his team. Behind the scenes, Valentin will aid Hange in researching the titans while Grey will work within the Military Police, gathering Intel." he told us. Blair and I nodded, understanding our roles and why we were chosen. My recon skills would be perfect for secret excursions beyond the wall to study titan behavior, and Blair's speed and charm would make it easy for him to infiltrate the inner walls without caught.

Erwin leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk, his fingers steepled, "I have reason to believe that the current royal family, isn't the real royal family."

My breath caught and I stared into his strong blue eyes; did he have any idea about what he was insinuating? He wanted us to investigate the royal family? If we were ever found out, we would be killed for treason. However, what did that have to do with titans?

"I also believe that the Wall priests have some knowledge into who the true royal family is and hidden knowledge that has never been made public." he continued answering my unspoken question, "I think they know where titans came from and why they only attack humanity. However all I have right now is speculation and hunches. I have no solid proof which is why I need you two to either find some, or prove me wrong. After that we can start planning our next move."

The room fell silent as Blair and I processed this new information. A fake royal family, which meant a fake King, and a secret that, if became public knowledge, would result in a coup d'etat. We would be working in secret, and should we be uncovered it would mean the death of many people. We, and our team members, would also have to undergo special training in order to deal with potential torture situations. Suddenly my choice of words earlier seemed more sinister and threatening.

"Ares, both Levi and I will be with you two every step of the way, we'll always have your back." Captain Hange said trying to reassure me. How could these two have so much faith in Erwin that they would risk their lives for his crazy hunches?

"Valentin." Levi called making me look at him, "Do it. You talked about avenging you family for years, don't bitch out now. This is it. This is your chance. Do it."

Levi's cool grey gaze and harsh words were the strength I needed. He was right. I could kill titans, yes, but if I didn't do this and Erwin was right, I would have missed my chance to get retribution on the real thing that killed my family. I would regret it and I would hate myself. I squared my shoulders and stood straight,

"This team you mentioned, do we get to pick the members?" I asked. Erwin smiled and nodded,

"Should you agree to this, yes." he replied. I nodded once, that was all I needed to hear, "Have someone in mind, do you?"

"A few, sir." I replied. Erwin reclined back in his chair,

"Shall I take it that means you agree?" he asked.

"I'm in."


End file.
